Dallas Sidekicks Roll to 8-0 with 11-4 Win over Rockford, Best Start In

Loves Park, Illinois - The Dallas Sidekicks defeated the Rockford Rampage 11-4 on the road Saturday night, bringing the team to 8-0 so far this season. This winning start is the best in franchise history.

Rockford was the first to put themselves on the board, Amir Ljeljak scoring at 7:10 in the first quarter. This was the first time the Sidekicks have found themselves trailing an opponent this season, but Rockford's lead lasted less than two minutes. At 8:26, Ricardinho tied up the match with his sixth goal of the season. At the end of the quarter, Carlos Videla took advantage of a late powerplay and gave the Sidekicks a 2-1 lead.

The Sidekicks found themselves killing a powerplay just 45 seconds into the second quarter, but Franck Mbemba managed to gain the advantage and score shorthanded at 2:01. This was Mbemba's second shorthanded goal of the season, putting him at the top of the PASL standings in that category. Rockford's Elvir Kafedzic struck back a minute later, but the Sidekicks quickly answered back, Nick Stavrou scoring at 3:42 with an assist from Ricardinho. Two more Sidekicks goals came soon after, Renato Pereira cashing in at 5:48 and Ricardinho notching his second of the night at 8:05. Semir Mesanovic scored an unassisted goal for Rockford at 10:16, cutting the Sidekick's lead to 6-3 going into halftime.

The third quarter remained scoreless well into its halfway point, but once it began it was all Sidekicks. Defender Kiley Couch scored his first goal of the season at 11:39, and Stavrou got his second - a shorthand goal - at 12:48. The Sidekicks' two shorthanded goals in the match tie an all-time team record set in 2002, and the team now leads the PASL in shorthanded goals with three so far this season.

Jamie Lovegrove wasted no time getting started in the fourth quarter, getting his tenth goal of the season only 24 seconds in. A few minutes later Rockford's Peter Kolasinski got one past goaltender Sagu at 2:38, but it didn't take the Sidekicks long to strike back with RJ Luevano scoring at 5:25. Lovegrove got his second of the night at 13:17, cementing the team's eighth straight win.

The Sidekicks will remain on the road for their next match, taking on the Chicago Mustangs Sunday, January 6 at 6:30 p.m. The team's next home game is Saturday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Allen Event Center.

Individual and season tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. For more information, visit www.dallassidekicks.net or call 214-550-6130. Follow the team on Twitter @GoSidekicks or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoSidekicks.